Female accomplice caught after pursuit

Anyone who sees Shane Schmidt is urged to call the Placer County Sheriff’s Office at 530-889-7800.

The Placer County Sheriff’s Department is seeking a Turlock man on felony vandalism and theft charges after he allegedly broke into a Colfax car wash.

Around 4 a.m. Monday the burglary alarm at the car wash was triggered. The owner, using a remote surveillance system, verified for the sheriff’s department that he could see a man drilling a coin box with a woman standing nearby.

The owner provided a description of the two, but by the time the deputy arrived at the car wash they had already left.

The deputy was patrolling the area a few minutes later when he spotted a man and woman that matched the descriptions of the thieves at a Colfax gas station.

The deputy attempted to detain both individuals but the man, later identified as Shane Schmidt, 39, of Turlock, fled on foot, while the woman, later identified as Sandra Byrd, 35, of Turlock jumped into their car and sped off.

A sheriff’s deputy spotted Byrd driving the vehicle westbound on Interstate 80 in Auburn and attempted to pull her over, but she refused to stop. Instead she led law enforcement on a high speed pursuit for about 20 miles on the interstate.

A Roseville police officer deployed a spike strip around Douglas Boulevard, causing Byrd to slow, but not stop. The pursuit lasted a bit longer until she was unable to continue driving the vehicle. She finally stopped on the interstate between Riverside and Antelope roads and was arrested on charges of evading arrest, driving with a suspended license and resisting arrest. She was booked at the Placer County Jail.

Deputies have been unable to locate Schmidt. He was last seen wearing a gray T-shirt with a white emblem, pants of an unknown color and black and white tennis shoes. He is described as 6-feet tall, weighing 200 pounds, with blond hair and blue eyes.

Schmidt is currently on probation for a felony fleeing a police officer and possession of a controlled substance. The charges stem from an arrest made on Jan. 28, by Turlock Police officers who captured Schmidt after he failed to pull over for a vehicle violation. He was caught after a short pursuit and found with drug paraphernalia. He pled guilty to the charges of fleeing and possession and was given probation.

Anyone who sees Schmidt is urged to call the Placer County Sheriff’s Office at 530-889-7800.